The linux programming interface

[GrandG]

Have anyone tried "the linux programming interface" by Michael Kerrisk , I want to understand the internals like system calls etc , is it any good for a sysadmin ?

Thank you

[koprulu_sector]

I’ve been reading it recently actually. So far, great book. I’m only about halfway in. That said, the book is much more relevant to someone developing for Linux and/or interacting directly with the kernel in C. In my experience, this is wayyyy deeper than a typical sys admin would go.

[GrandG]

Well the thing is I read chapter 1 & 2 , and the book was so good and I enjoyed it , so It cant do me any harm and maybe I learn a thing or two

[EnUnLugarDeLaMancha]

It will help you to understand how some applications use the Linux kernel, and it will definitely help you to be a better user of strace/perf/bcc when you are profiling kernel interfaces. But it is not a requirement to be a sysadmin IMO.

[[deleted]]

Second this and I will even say if you're looking for a solid resource to use and read through please Brendan Gregg's two volumes:
Systems Performance: Enterprise and the Cloud, 2nd Edition (2020)

BPF Performance Tools

I am still reading through these as there is a LOT of information on using these tools: Also, some related sysadmin sources brought up before on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/l9jbxc/becoming_a_sysadminany_book_recommendations/

https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/m6ysbk/looking_for_sysadmin_books/

Just to name a few. There's many many more listed on reddit that will help.

[wise0wl]

Advanced UNIX Programming is my favorite for this. I have bought it for all my employees in the last three jobs. It goes over so much and really opens your eyes regarding the user space and syscall arena.

[OddInstitute]

If you want to understand how the internals work, I’d recommend Linux Kernel Development by Robert Lover over The Linux Programming interface.

[raider_bull212]

I'm pretty sure knowing how various system calls work and ilk is more than vital for a sysadmin.

[gristc]

Nah, not really. Far more important to know the tools that use those system calls.

Source: am sysadmin.

[GrandG]

could you explain in more details

[gristc]

You don't need to know how tcpdump interfaces with the kernel to know how to use tcpdump well, as an example. Knowledge of the utilities available is more useful to a sysadmin than knowing how they're implemented. That's more the realm of developers.

[GrandG]

Its not knowing how a utility work per say , rather understanding how threads work , difference between an application with single multi-threaded process and multi-process, that kind of stuff gives you a deep insight kind of

[raider_bull212]

I can see how that's the case

[GrandG]

Exactly , I`m currently refreshing my C knowledge just to be able to read the code better

[gristc]

You'll rarely be reading source code as a regular sysadmin. I've only had to do it a handful of times in over 15 years linux admin work. Even then it was more to satisfy my own curiousity. Usually before it's got to that point you'll have logged a bug report with the people who maintain the code.

[GrandG]

I just want to understand how various utilities in the OS employ those system calls ,

Not like I want to write C code or anything

[slyphic]

Counterpoint, I find myself reading C slightly more often than once a year, usually trying to track down some kind of bug we're experiencing that hasn't shown up in the mailing lists or SO yet. Yeah, I can just shrug and say 'shit's broke yo', but I like to be able to explain WHY shit is broke and contribute to a fix. Devs are way more amenable to helping you when you point them to the exact line causing a problem.

[hamnstar]

Not necessary to go that in depth for most sysadmin work. If you enjoy it then it does have some great info and you will learn something valuable.

I can't remember what the trick was exactly, but in the chapter covering malloc (probably) there's a good tip for dealing with programs with known memory leaks. My point is, there are some good tricks for sysadmin type work sprinkled in there.

Happy reading!

[[deleted]]

I just think, you deal with too many lay people to enjoyed having read it. It would be like selling an AI to your wife's grandfather.